Most important supplies you need to start.

[adittam]

If you want to take a look at my build thread, I’ve got a very budget conscious 46 gallon sumpless tank as my first saltwater tank. I agree with what most of the previous replies have said as well.

One thing I would add is that for RO/DI water the RO Buddie does a great job for a tank of this size, and is much cheaper than other units.

 

[EricR]

As a newbie (5 month old FOWLR + inverts doing well), I'll throw my two cents in:

I agree with the idea to get substrate (sand), live or dry rock (research pros/cons and pick), and saltwater in now, then worry about buying stuff once your tank is cycled.

Thoughts on what you ALREADY HAVE -- what "freshwater" stuff do you already have?
(1. Substrate <--probably want to get rid of it and get whichever proper marine sand you prefer. (Making assumptions about what you might have down in there now)
(2. HOB filter <--might be fine, depending on what it is
(3. Lighting <--probably fine for fish/inverts but not for photosynthetic corals

 

[reefsaver]

As a newbie (5 month old FOWLR + inverts doing well), I'll throw my two cents in:

I agree with the idea to get substrate (sand), live or dry rock (research pros/cons and pick), and saltwater in now, then worry about buying stuff once your tank is cycled.

Thoughts on what you ALREADY HAVE -- what "freshwater" stuff do you already have?
(1. Substrate <--probably want to get rid of it and get whichever proper marine sand you prefer. (Making assumptions about what you might have down in there now)
(2. HOB filter <--might be fine, depending on what it is
(3. Lighting <--probably fine for fish/inverts but not for photosynthetic corals

I would follow these guidelines they're pretty good, you could also use a Canister filter together with a HOB filter. There would be no problem using both simultaneously. I prefer the idea of keeping equipment in HOB filters and removing the media they come with, so you can hide your heater, skimmer, Auto Top Off tubing, maybe add a small light and some Chaeto, copepods. My chosen HOB Filter would probably be the largest Aquaclear AC 110 as it is massive and I like the idea of adding as much water volume to a system as I can to further influence stability positively. I would then try and find a decent Canister Filter with an inbuilt UV light, I remove the filter padding and keep biomedia and carbon in the canister [Padding is nitrate factory] I would drill the sides of my aquarium or the lid, add some 90° fittings to neaten up the tubes from the canister and add surface skimmer basket on the sucking side of the canister filter and add filter floss which will probably need replacing on a weekly basis. This is like my ultimate dream Pico build.